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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Chick Noir

Since its inception chick lit has often come in for a bit of a bashing. Many people dismiss it as fluffy, vapid, disposable and even badly written works of fiction. I will be the first to put my hand up and agree that a lot of books in this genre are not worth the pretty paper that they are printed on but on the flip side there are some very good books out there. Authors such as Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella, Louise Bagshawe, Mike Gayle, Robyn Sisman and Lisa Jewell turn in amazing stories and serve chick lit well. There is a new modern fiction category on the block; chick noir which is post modern chick lit with an edge. This differs from chick lit which is all about getting the guy and living happy ever after while chick noir is much more dark and features single women who grow to be happy in their own skin and not obsessive about being married. The pioneer of this exciting genre is Jane Fallon, author of Getting Rid of Matthew and Got You Back. Fallon's talents do not just lie in fiction, she is an established TV producer and has worked on fantastic shows like EastEnders, This Life and Teachers which are infamous for their portrayal of strong women.

Both Fallon's books, Getting Rid of Matthew and Got You Back cover the tales of infidelity and unravels the lives of the wife and the mistress. Getting Rid of Matthew was released last year and secured itself on Richard & Judy's summer read and went to become a bestseller. I am sure that the eye catching cover with a lady in a pencil skirt and stilettos cannot have hurt. However there is no denying that Getting Rid of Matthew is a great piece of fiction. The book tells the story of Helen whose lover, Matthew turns up on her doorstep and announces that he has left his wife. From there you expect the story to take the conventional approach of focusing on the couple and their trials and tribulations but remember that this is not chick lit but chick noir and that calls for a few twists and turns. Hence the entrance of Matthew's wife, Sophie who is picking up the pieces of her broken marriage. Then there is the small matter of Helen deciding that Matthew and her are not right together and hatches a plan to return him to his wife.

Fallon manages to turn Helen who some people would define as a self centred cow into a very sympathetic character. Compelling and extremely funny are the words I would use to describe this book as the writer takes you through the story with style as well as a lot of substance. It is so good that a certain Jennifer Aniston has acquired the rights for her production company, Plan C with plans to turn it into a film. Fallon's new book, Got You Back offers more of the same with two women; wife and mistress colluding to plot the down fall of husband James who has been leading two separate lives. So just as women are leading their lives as they please on TV shows such as Sex and the City and films like The Women, it seems that we have now reached that place in books.

To find out more about Jane Fallon, check out an article in The Guardian here.

Breakfast Club 2.0


It is good to know that the wonders of The Breakfast Club have not been forgotten. As well as the social psychologically issues that the 80s film raised there is also the kookish vibe, pop rock music and edgy fashion. These elements all packaged together created a wonderful form of pop culture that remains true today. So it is no wonder that US store, JC Penney has used the format of The Breakfast Club as a TV advert. Made by advertising supremos, Saatchi and Saatchi, the commercial which is called 'Get That Look' shows the famous bits from the film. We see five teenagers arrive at school for detention and see them performing the antics that we saw in the iconic film with an updated version of the theme soundtrack being played. It is really is a cute sight to see and I only have one question. What took them so long? Check out the advert above and tell me what you think.

Vanity Fair speaks Spanish

This Sunday at work -yes, every single day there are newspaper- wasn't boring. I bought Vanity Fair, I was curious, despite I don't really like the American or the Italian version, I wanted to see the first issue of the Spanish edition. And it didn't dissapointed me, on the contrary, it was a great Sunday-working-surprise. I was more than happy when I discovered there is a Manolo Blahnik's report. Here I selected for you the most interesting reports. Despite I don't like the cover, what there is inside is soo good.
Este domingo no fue aburrido, a pesar de que trabaj� -s�, no s� si lamentablemente, pero hay peri�dico todos los d�as-. Compr� la Vanity Fair espa�ola un poco por curiosidad m�s que por otra cosa, ya que tanto su versi�n americana como italiana no son santo de mi devoci�n. Lo grave fue que no solo no me decepcion�, si no que me gust�, y mucho. Me encant� comprobar que hab�a un reportaje dedicado al grande entre los grandes, Mr. Blahn�k. Aqu� abajo ten�is una peque�a muestra de los interesantes reportajes que se pueden encontrar en la revista. A pesar de que la portada no me parece ni medio buena, el contenido del interior est� muy bien.

Agnelli family


Luxury brands report


Herm�s history


Writer Paul Auster




My beloved Manolo Blahn�k





Serge Gainsbourg





Project Runway Australia - Episode 8

Thank you once again to kimmikimmileon for uploading these episodes to Youtube.


Click here to continue.

MONTREAL - i love neon, telus theatre, 08/30/08



runway to highstreet - givenchy fall 08


I know everyone has been crazy about the Givenchy Fall 08 collection but I have to mention it as well. I always adore Givenchy and the Fall 08 collection was so strong and captivating. It made me want to dress all black this fall. I really love the dark goth romance, it's definitely my favorite trend of the season.

Unsung Beauty

One of the other winners among the Saturn crowd were the pants created by Terri Stevens. This girl can whip up a pair in no time and these were very well done. There was serious discussion amongst the Saturn hoi polloi about how these could be marketed. The guys thought they could be made into motorcycle pants. The finish was amazing given the time constraints and I loved the detail at the top.





The contrast between the front and back of the pant was really cool.

Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture of her top, but this look could have easily been chosen for the Top 3. There was another design that I thought was of little interest while watching the show, but in person ended up being surprisingly chic and beautiful.

Click here to see!

Fashion Legend Diane von Furstenberg

Meeting a Legend

Saturday, August 30, 2008

More From The Saturn Closet

Click on the photo for a closer view.
You want to know something shocking? Saturn is populated with a bunch of geeky gearheads, some of whom have never watched Project Runway. I know, this is hard to fathom. But one thing is certain, even if you don't know Suede from Stella, when you walk by Korto Momulu's amazing seatbelt coat you absolutely stop dead in your tracks.


Lisa Gilpin and I lugged this coat out of the file room closet and everyone within eyeshot began oohing and aahing. To answer a reader question, the coat was unlined. Given the time restraint of the challenge, I wasn't surprised.


Like Rachel Zoe, many proclaimed that they could easily wear it out the door. That's until you actually try to lift this thing. It weighs 30 pounds! Honestly, I don't know how Korto's model Katrina managed to walk this down the runway without falling over face first.


See this look on her face:





That's not the face of high fashion. That's a face in pain!

Click here for more as Tbone heads back into the closet to check out Stella and Suede's designs.

MONTREAL - balloons, mile end, 08/30/08



Inspiring...

Today I've gone to the countryside, searching a great bread just made, and searching inspiration for the season. I couldn't help but take a picture of these lovely flowers. Aren't its colour, shape and beauty amazing?!
Hoy he ido al campo, buscando el olor -y sobre todo el sabor- del pan reci�n hecho, y buscando tambi�n alg�n tipo de inspiraci�n para la temporada que est� a punto de comenzar. No pude evitar hacer una foto a estas flores. Su color, forma y belleza, son incre�bles, �no cre�is?

Tbone In Momolu

Oh no, he di'int.

Clickety-click.

Recapalooza!


Photo courtesy of ProjectRunway.com.

I know, I know. Many apologies for the lateness of the 'looza. I had a little unplanned adventure to attend to yesterday. Here we go:

Uncle Nick is on fire, getting all kinds of things off his hairy chest...
Eric3000 has one face and unlimited patterns...
Lorraine's NOM has become her MAB...
Elisa calls it the best episode this season...
Elise is just a softy at heart....
AJ is an old-school BeePeR...
Jordan Baker's poll fromlast week is hilarious...
Miz Shoes is in rare form...
Dining and dancing with RJ Flamingo...
The Grits to Glitz girls are thrilled at Leanne's win...
Maisy assigns an automobile to each design...
Here are the weekly memorable quotes from SCS...
Brian Orloff at People checks inagin this week...
We agree with Elizabeth, it was like a completely different series...
Appropriately, Cliffie wrote his recap in a car...
Blayne's real life boss talks about Blayne!
Leanne makes a big move on Captain Mal's list...
Dodi loved this challenge...
Green Owl actually liked Keith's outfit...
Toyouke has all the details...
Suarez is a newbie, give his some love...

ETA: The Minx!

That should keep you busy for a while. If you have a recap to share, send us the link. Thanks everyone!

smash & grabbers (28.08.08)

click on the photo to see large